How much can I earn in coop?

[Emily2007]

<p>This is a post I wrote way back about where co-op money goes. It’s not really specific to your question but will address how much you make on co-op and how students typically spend it. It’s copy/paste from this thread:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northeastern-university/976473-does-co-op-money-make-difference-far-paying-tuition.html?highlight=expenses[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northeastern-university/976473-does-co-op-money-make-difference-far-paying-tuition.html?highlight=expenses&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>

The big expense as a student is rent. If you live in dorms, a shared bedroom breaks down to somewhere between $830-$1100/month. In off-campus areas nearby you can get your own bedroom for around $900, on mission hill it’s about $750.</p>

<p>Next is how much you make. I’d say on average, depending on major/field, people make around $10-15/hr. After taxes, that’s going to equal out to be somewhere between $8,000-$12,000 of income in 6 months. </p>

<p>Pretend you’re the guy making $9,000 after taxes, so your monthly income is $1500. Based on the people I know, cost of living in a month might be something like this:</p>

<p>Rent: $750
Utilities: $40
Cable/internet: $30
Food: $200 (honestly, this is low)
Transportation: $20
Other: $50
=$1090</p>

<p>This leaves $410 a month to save, a 6mo saving of $2460, which doesn’t really make a dent in tuition… plus you’ll probably want to have some money saved for when you’re in classes and aren’t able to work full-time. </p>

<p>Co-op could cover basic expenses (pretty easily) and rent (less easily, especially if you don’t want to live in mission hill), but don’t expect it to cover much, if any, tuition.

</p>

<p>But, specifically to you, how are you planning to spend that 20/25k in loans? If you have full-tuition, parents pay food and board, brother contributes 15k… what are the loans for? Are they just for general spending/living expenses? I’m going to assume you’re thinking 20-25k just for general living expenses and answer your question based on that.</p>

<p>If THIS is the case, then co-op can help you cut down on loans. I usually say, NO! CO-OP WON’T HELP YOUR DEBT! </p>

<p>But if your meal plan/board is being covered by your parents, that means that the bulk of your co-op income can be used for basic living expenses, and you would be able to avoid taking out a ton of loans. You’d still need some loans taken out, especially for the first two years of college, but co-op would enable you to take out less.</p>